JP2002316443A - Printer and printing auxiliary tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer which can print easily regardless of transferable printing media and non transferable printing media. SOLUTION: An upper unit 2 and a lower unit 3 are set to be freely united and separated. The upper unit 2 has an ink-jet printing head 13, a self running roll 14 and a driven roll 15. The lower unit 3 has a platen roll 6 and a nip roll 7 for transferring the recording medium X to a printing position of the ink-jet printing head 13 in a state in which the units are united. The printing medium X is transferred by driving the platen roll 6 and the nip roll 7 in the unite state of the units, and printing is carried out by the ink-jet printing head 13 to the transferred printing medium X. In a state with the units separated, while the upper unit 2 runs by itself on the printing medium X through driving of the self running roll 14 and the driven roll 15, printing is carried out by the ink-jet printing head 13 to the printing medium X under the upper unit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a printing apparatus capable of performing printing irrespective of the type of printing medium, and a printing aid for assisting printing by the printing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional printing apparatus, a print head is provided so as to be movable in a main scanning direction, and a printing paper as a printing medium is provided so as to be movable in a sub scanning direction, and the printing head is moved in the main scanning direction. One line is printed, and when the printing of one line is completed, the printing paper is moved in the sub-scanning direction to the next line position, and the printing operation of the next line is started. This is for printing.

Another conventional printing apparatus performs printing without moving a print medium by moving a print head not only in a main scanning direction but also in a sub-scanning direction like an XY plotter or an XY robot. (See, for example, JP-A-8-67032).

[0004]

However, in the former printing apparatus of the related art, printing is performed while moving the print head and the printing paper together. Since the printing operation can be performed, the printing medium is suitable for printing on a transportable print medium (for example, sheet or roll paper), but cannot print on an immovable print medium.

Further, in the latter conventional printing apparatus, there is no need to move the print medium, so that the print medium that cannot be moved (for example, the surface of an object wrapped with books, notebooks, paper, etc., a small amount of A relatively flat surface with irregularities)
Is suitable for printing, but printing on a transportable print medium is very troublesome. In other words, it is necessary to set the printing device at the print set position. In particular, when it is desired to continuously print on a print medium, the printing device must be set at the print set position each time.

As described above, in the conventional printing apparatus, there is a problem that printing must be performed by selectively using the printing apparatus according to the transportable print medium and the non-transportable print medium.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and it is possible to carry a print medium irrespective of whether it is transportable or non-transportable.
An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of easily performing printing regardless of the type of a printing medium, and a printing aid that assists printing by the printing apparatus.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an upper unit and a lower unit disposed below the upper unit are provided so as to be united and separable, and the upper unit does not contact downward. And a self-propelled member mounted on the mounting surface in a unit-separated state, wherein the lower unit is in a united state and a print medium is located at a printing position of the non-contact print head. Having a medium transport member for transporting, a print medium is transported by driving the medium transport member in the united state, the non-contact print head performs printing on the transported print medium,
The non-contact print head performs printing on the print medium below the upper unit while the upper unit is running on the print medium by driving the self-propelled member in the unit separated state. .

In this printing apparatus, if the print medium is conveyable, if the print medium is set at the print feeding position in a united state, the print medium is conveyed by the medium conveyance member, and the conveyed print medium is conveyed. The non-contact print head performs printing. If the upper unit is set on the print medium in a unit-separated state when the print medium cannot be transported, the non-contact type print head moves on the lower print medium while the upper unit runs on the print medium by itself. Perform printing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the first aspect, a driving source of the medium transport member is provided in the upper unit, and the printing medium provided in the upper unit in the united state. A drive transmission system and a print medium drive transmission system provided in the lower unit are connected to drive the medium transport member, and the print medium drive transmission system and the lower unit provided in the upper unit in the unit separated state. Is separated from the print medium drive transmission system provided in the above, and the driving force of the drive source is transmitted to the self-propelled drive transmission system to drive the self-propelled member.

In this printing apparatus, in addition to the function of the first aspect of the present invention, the drive source of the medium transport member and the drive source of the self-propelled unit can be used.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printing apparatus according to the first aspect, the non-contact type print head is an ink jet type print head, and the lower unit has a head cleaning unit.

In this printing apparatus, in addition to the operation of the first aspect, the head cleaning operation of the ink jet print head can be performed in a united state.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print medium setting means for setting a print medium at a predetermined printing position, and a rail on which a self-propelled member of a separated unit runs, and the self-propelled member runs along the rail. The non-contact type print head of the unit moves along the print medium surface set by the print medium setting means.

With this printing aid, the printing medium can be set at a predetermined printing position, and the unit can be moved over the rails along the rails without any vertical movement.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the printing aid according to the fourth aspect, wherein the non-contact type print head is an ink jet type print head and has a head cleaning unit.

With this printing aid, the head cleaning operation and the capping operation of the ink jet print head can be performed even in the unit separated state, in addition to the operation of the invention of the fourth aspect.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 9 show an embodiment of a printing apparatus according to the present invention and a printing aid which assists printing of the printing apparatus. FIG. 1 is a front view of the printing apparatus in a united state, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the printing apparatus in the united state, FIG. 3 is a right side view of the printing apparatus in the united state, FIG. 4 is a front view of the printing apparatus in the unit separated state, and FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a front view of the separated upper unit, FIG. 7 is a side view of the separated upper unit, FIG. 8 is a plan view of the printing aid, and FIG. 9 is a cross section taken along line AA of FIG. FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the printing apparatus 1 comprises:
It comprises an upper unit 2 and a lower unit 3 arranged below the upper unit 2. The upper unit 2 and the lower unit 3 are provided in a united state shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and a separated state shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 so as to be united and separable.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, the lower unit 3 has a lower base member 4, and an upper end surface 4a of the lower base member 4 shown in FIGS. It is a combined surface with the base member 10. An engagement projection (engaging portion) (not shown) is provided on one of the combined surfaces, and an engagement groove (engaging portion) (not shown) is provided on the other. The projections are merged by being inserted into the engagement grooves, and when the two merged surfaces are separated from each other, the engagement projections are detached from the engagement grooves to be separated.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the lower base member 4 is a sheet feeder 5 and a medium transporting member to which the leading end of the printing paper X which is a print medium set on the sheet feeder 5 is guided. Platen roll 6 and nip roll 7 pressed against it
Are provided. The platen roll 6 and the nip roll 7 are rotatably provided on the lower base member 4, respectively, and the platen roll 6 is configured to be rotated by a print medium driving unit 25 described later. Then, when the platen roll 6 rotates, the printing paper X inserted between the two rolls 6 and 7 obtains a conveyance force by the rotation force of the platen roll 6 and is conveyed in synchronization with the rotation of the platen roll 6. Has become.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the lower base member 4 is provided with a head cleaning unit 8 at a position where an ink jet print head 13 described later can move. The head cleaning unit 8 has a head discharge / cap portion 8a and a blade portion 8b.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3 to 5, the upper unit 2 has an upper base member 10, and the lower end surface 10a of the upper base member 10 is combined with the lower base member 4 of the lower unit 3. It has been. A guide rod 11 arranged in a horizontal direction is fixed to the upper base member 10, and a head carriage 12 is slidably provided on the guide rod 11.

An ink jet print head 13, which is a non-contact print head, is provided on the head carriage 12 in a detachable manner.
3, an ink tank (not shown) is added. The ink jet print head 13 has a plurality of ink ejection holes (not shown) on the lower surface thereof, and performs non-contact printing by ejecting the ink toward a printing position below the ink ejection holes. There are three ink ejection holes for yellow, magenta, and cyan, for example, so that full-color printing can be performed. The ink jet print head 13 is moved in the main scanning direction M by the main scanning drive unit 20.

The upper unit 2 has a pair of self-propelled rolls 14 and 14 and a pair of driven rolls 15 and 1 which are self-propelled members at four positions at front and rear positions and at both ends.
5 are provided, and the upper unit 2 in the unit separated state is mounted on the mounting surface 16 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 by each self-propelled roll 14 and each driven roll 15. The pair of driven rolls 15, 15 are rotatably supported by the upper base member 10, respectively. The pair of self-propelled rolls 14, 14 are rotatably supported by the upper base member 10 via a roll support shaft 17, and the pair of self-propelled rolls 14, 14 are rotated by a driving force of a self-propelled driving unit 40 described later. It is supposed to be. The upper unit 2 includes a power supply unit, a control unit, an operation panel unit, a display panel unit, and the like (not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the main scanning drive means 20 includes a main scanning motor 21 which is a pulse motor fixed to the upper base member 10 and a rotating shaft of the main scanning motor 21. A first pulley 22 disposed at a position from the right end of the upper base member 10, and a second pulley 22 rotatably disposed at a position opposite to the left end of the upper base member 10 on the side opposite to the position of the first pulley 22. A pulley 23 and a drive belt 24 hung between the first pulley 22 and the second pulley 23 and arranged in parallel with the guide rod 11, and the head carriage 12 is fixed to the drive belt 24. I have. When the main scanning motor 21 rotates,
The drive belt 24 moves, and the movement of the drive belt 24 moves the inkjet print head 13 together with the head carriage 12 in the main scanning direction M.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the print medium driving means 25 includes a sub-scanning motor (drive source) 26 which is a pulse motor fixed to the upper base member 10, and a And a print medium drive transmission system 27a, 27b for transmitting the drive force to the platen roll 6. The print medium drive transmission systems 27a and 27b include a first gear 28 fixed to the rotation shaft 26a of the sub-scanning motor 26, a second gear 29 meshed with the first gear 28, and supported by the upper base member 10 to rotate. A large-diameter third gear 30 fixed coaxially with the second gear 29, and a third gear 30
Gear 3 fixed to the roll support shaft 17
And the fourth base gear 31 and the upper base member 1
A fifth gear 32 rotatably supported at 0, a sixth gear 33 meshed with the fifth gear 32 and rotatably supported by the lower base member 4, and fixed coaxially with the sixth gear 33. A first pulley 34, a drive belt 35 having one end hung on the first pulley 34, and a second pulley 36 hung on the other end of the drive belt 35 and fixed to the support shaft 6 a of the platen roll 6. It is configured. The print medium drive transmission systems 27a and 27b are provided on the upper base member 10 side from the first gear 28 to the fifth gear 32.
And the lower gear 4 side 27 after the sixth gear 33
b. In the united state, the fifth gear 32 and the sixth gear 33 are engaged with each other, so that both print medium drive transmission systems 27a and 27b are connected, and the platen roll 6 is driven. In the unit separation state, the fifth gear 32 and the sixth gear 33 are separated from each other, so that the two print medium drive transmission systems 27a and 27b are separated.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the self-propelled driving means 4
Reference numeral 0 denotes a sub-scanning motor 26, a first gear 28, a second gear 29, a third gear 30, and a fourth gear 31 which are part of the print medium driving unit 25 described above. When rotated, the pair of self-propelled rolls 14 is rotated regardless of whether the unit is in a united state or a unit separated state. That is, the self-propelled unit 40 is configured to also serve as a drive source (sub-scanning motor 26) of the print medium drive unit 25 and a part of the print medium drive transmission system 27a. When the unit is in the separated state, the upper unit 2 is self-propelled by the rotation of the pair of self-propelled rolls 14. The outer peripheral speed of the pair of self-propelled rolls 14 is set to be equal to the outer peripheral speed of the platen roll 6, that is, the print medium feeding speed during printing. In the united state, the pair of self-propelled rolls 14 are simply rotated without receiving a rotational load.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the printing aid 5
0 is a lower fixing member 51 having a projecting base 51a at the center;
A rectangular frame-shaped upper fixing member 52 which is inserted from above the lower fixing member 51;
a, a flexible printing medium such as a T-shirt or a handkerchief is placed thereon, and an upper fixing member 52 is placed over the flexible printing medium. It can be set with a certain tension on it. That is, the lower fixing member 51 and the upper fixing member 52 constitute a print medium setting unit. A pair of rail grooves (rails) 52a, 52a are provided at left and right positions of the upper fixing member 52, and a pair of self-propelled rolls 14, 14 and driven rolls 15, 15 are mounted on the pair of rail grooves 52a, 52a. The upper unit 2 can be arranged by placing it. Thereby, the T set on the protruding base 51a of the lower fixing member 51 is set.
A flexible print medium such as a shirt is located at the print position of the inkjet print head 13. Also,
A head cleaning unit 53 is provided on the upper fixing member 52 at a position where the ink jet print head 13 can move. This head cleaning unit 53
Has a head ejection / cap portion 53a and a blade portion 53b, like the lower unit 3.

Next, the printing operation of the printing apparatus 1 will be described.
When a printing medium can be conveyed from an attached personal computer, for example, in the case of a fixed printing paper X, the printing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The unit is in the united state shown in (1). When the printing paper X is set on the paper feed table 5 and the start of printing is selected, the main scanning drive unit 20 causes the inkjet printing head 13 to operate.
Is set at the printing start position after the ink discharge operation and the head cleaning operation, and the printing paper X is set at the printing start position by the paper feed pickup roll and the printing medium driving unit 25 (not shown).

The ink jet print head 13
Is moved in the main scanning direction M by the main scanning driving means 20, and ink is selectively ejected to print the first line. When the printing of the first line is completed, the printing paper X is transported by the print medium driving unit 25 to the position of the next line in the sub-scanning direction S, and the second line by the ink jet type print head 13 is performed in the same manner as described above. Printing is performed. When such a printing operation is performed for all the lines, the printing operation is completed.

When the printing medium cannot be transported, for example, on the surface of a cardboard box (not shown), the printing apparatus 1
The upper unit 2 is separated from the lower unit 3 in the unit separation state shown in FIGS. Then, when the upper unit 2 is placed on the cardboard box and printing start is selected, the main scanning drive unit 20 sets the ink jet printing head 13 at the printing start position.

The ink jet print head 13
Is moved in the main scanning direction M by the main scanning driving means 20, and ink is selectively ejected to print the first line. When the printing of the first line is completed, the self-propelled roll 14 is driven by the print medium driving unit 25, and the upper unit 2 is self-propelled to be at the position of the next line in the sub-scanning direction S,
The second line is printed by the ink jet print head 13. When such a printing operation is performed for all the lines, the printing operation is completed.

Further, the printing medium cannot be transported, and T
When the printing medium is a flexible printing medium such as a shirt or a handkerchief, the upper unit 2 is separated from the lower unit 3 by setting the printing apparatus 1 to the unit separation state shown in FIGS.
A flexible printing medium such as a T-shirt or a handkerchief is placed on the lower fixing member 51 of the printing aid 50, and the upper fixing member 52 is placed over the flexible printing medium. And the upper unit 2
Self-propelled roll 14 and driven roll 15
When the upper unit 2 is placed on the printing auxiliary tool 50 so as to be located at the position, and the printing start is selected, the ink jet print head 13 is set to the printing start position by the main scanning drive unit 20.

The ink jet print head 13
Is moved in the main scanning direction M by the main scanning driving means 20, and ink is selectively ejected to print the first line. When the printing of the first line is completed, the self-propelled roll 14 is driven by the print medium driving unit 25, and the upper unit 2 is self-propelled to be at the position of the next line in the sub-scanning direction S,
The second line is printed by the ink jet print head 13. When such a printing operation is performed for all the lines, the printing operation is completed.

On the other hand, before the start of printing, after the end of printing, and at the time of uniting, head cleaning of the ink jet print head 13 is performed using the head cleaning unit 8. In other words, head cleaning involves head ejection and
The ink is ejected into the cap portion 8a, and then the tip of the head is reciprocated to the blade portion 8b to scrape the ink ejection holes and excess ink attached to the head surface, and this operation is repeated a plurality of times. Further, in a standby state in which the printing operation is not performed, the ink ejection holes are made to stand by at a position where they are covered by the head cap portion 8a to prevent the head from drying. As described above, the ink ejection performance of the ink jet print head 13 is maintained.

As described above, in the printing apparatus 1, if the printing medium is set to the printing paper feeding position in a united state in the case where the printing medium is a transportable printing medium, the printing medium is not shown in the drawing. 6 and the nip roll 7, and the inkjet print head 13 performs printing on the transported print medium. If the upper unit 2 is set on the print medium in a unit separated state when the print medium cannot be transported, the upper unit 2 runs on the print medium by itself, and the upper unit 2 The ink jet print head 13 performs printing on the print medium. Therefore, printing can be easily performed regardless of whether the print medium is transportable or non-transportable, that is, regardless of the type of print medium.

In the printing apparatus 1, the drive sources of the platen roll 6 and the nip roll 7, which are medium transport members, are provided in the upper unit 2, and in a united state, the print medium drive transmission system 27a provided in the upper unit 2 is provided. And the print medium drive transmission system 27b provided in the lower unit are connected to drive the platen roll 6 and the nip roll 7, and in a unit separated state, the print medium drive transmission system 27a provided in the upper unit 2 is connected to the lower unit. The provided print medium drive transmission system 27b is separated, and the driving force of the sub-scanning motor 26 is transmitted to the self-propelled drive transmission system to drive the self-propelled roll 14, which is a self-propelled member. Therefore, since the driving source of the platen roll 6 and the driving source of the self-propelled driving unit 40 can be shared, the number of driving sources is reduced, and the configuration is simplified.
The number of parts is reduced.

Further, in the printing apparatus 1, since the non-contact type print head is the ink jet type print head 13 and the lower unit 3 has the head cleaning unit 8, the head cleaning operation of the ink jet type print head 13 is performed in the united state. Because it is possible,
The ink ejection performance of the inkjet print head 13 can be maintained.

Further, in the printing apparatus 1, the lower fixing member 51 and the upper fixing member 5 for setting a print medium at a predetermined printing position.
2 and a rail groove 52a on which the self-propelled roll 14 and the driven roll 15 of the separated upper unit 2 travel, and the inkjet of the upper unit 2 self-propelled on the rail groove 52a. The print head 13 includes a printing aid 50 that moves on the print medium set by the print medium setting means. Therefore,
The print medium is set at a predetermined print position, and the upper unit 2 can be moved along the rail groove 52a reliably and without any vertical movement on the print medium. be able to.

Further, the printing aid 50 of the above embodiment is used.
Since the printer has the head cleaning unit 53, the head cleaning operation of the ink jet type print head 13 is possible even in the unit separated state, so that the ink discharge performance of the ink jet type print head 13 can be maintained.

Note that the printing aid 50 of the above embodiment is
Although a flexible printing medium such as a shirt or a handkerchief is set, the printing aid 50 can set a non-transportable printing medium, and the upper unit 2 sets the set printing medium as a printing position. Any device having a movable rail may be used. For example, a device having a variable height of a mounting table on which a print medium is mounted is suitable as a printing aid such as a book or a notebook. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the inkjet head 16 is of a full-color type, but may be of a single color.

[0044]

As described above, according to the printing apparatus of the first aspect, when the printing medium is a transportable printing medium,
If the print medium is set at the print feed position in the united state, the print medium is transported by the medium transport member, and the non-contact print head performs printing on the transported print medium, and prints that cannot be transported. In the case of a medium, if the upper unit is set on the print medium in the unit separated state, the upper unit runs on the print medium by itself, and the non-contact print head performs printing on the print medium below it, Regardless of whether the print medium is transportable or non-transportable, that is, printing can be easily performed regardless of the type of print medium.

According to the printing apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, since the drive source of the medium transport member and the drive source of the self-propelling means can be shared, the number of drive sources can be reduced, the configuration can be simplified, the number of parts can be reduced, and the like. become.

According to the printing apparatus of the third aspect of the present invention, the head cleaning operation of the ink jet print head can be performed in the united state, so that the ink discharge performance of the ink jet print head can be maintained.

According to the printing aid for assisting printing of the printing apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the printing medium is set at a predetermined printing position of the printing aid, and the unit is securely moved along the rail on the printing medium. In addition, since the robot can be self-propelled without vertical movement, appropriate printing can be performed on a print medium that can be set.

According to the printing aid of the present invention, the head cleaning operation and the capping operation of the ink jet print head can be performed even in the unit separation state, so that the ink discharge performance of the ink jet print head can be maintained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention and is a front view of a printing apparatus in a united state.

FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating the printing apparatus in a united state according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a right side view of the printing apparatus in a united state according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the printing apparatus in a unit separated state according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a right side view of the printing apparatus in a unit separated state according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the upper unit separated from the unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the upper unit separated from the unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the printing aid according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows one embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printing apparatus 2 Upper unit 3 Lower unit 6 Platen roll (medium conveyance member) 7 Nip roll (medium conveyance member) 8,53 Head cleaning unit 13 Ink jet print head (non-contact type print head) 14 Self-propelled roll (self-propelled member) 15) Followed roll 16 Placement surface 25 Print medium drive means 26 Sub-scanning motor (drive source) 27a, 27b Print medium drive transmission system 50 Printing aid 51 Lower fixed member (print medium setting means) 52 Upper fixed member (print medium) Setting means) 52a Rail groove (rail) X Printing paper (printing medium)

Claims (5)

[Claims] An upper unit and a lower unit disposed below the upper unit are provided so as to be united and separable, and the upper unit is a non-contact type print head and a unit capable of printing downward in a non-contact manner. A self-propelled member mounted on the mounting surface in a separated state, wherein the lower unit has a medium transport member that transports a print medium to a printing position of the non-contact print head in a united state, A print medium is transported by driving the medium transport member in a united state, and the non-contact print head performs printing on the transported print medium. A printing apparatus, wherein the non-contact print head prints on the print medium below the print medium while driving on the print medium by driving. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a drive source of the medium transport member is provided in the upper unit, and a print medium drive transmission system provided in the upper unit in the united state. The print medium drive transmission system provided in the lower unit is connected to drive the medium transport member, and the print medium drive transmission system provided in the upper unit and the print provided in the lower unit in the unit separated state. A printing apparatus wherein a medium drive transmission system is separated, and a driving force of the drive source is transmitted to a self-propelled drive transmission system to drive the self-propelled member. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the non-contact print head is an ink jet print head, and the lower unit has a head cleaning unit. 4. A printing medium setting means for setting a printing medium at a predetermined printing position, and a rail on which a self-propelled member of a separated unit runs, and a non-moving unit of the unit self-running along the rail. A printing aid, wherein a contact print head moves along the print medium surface set by the print medium setting means. 5. The printing aid according to claim 4, wherein the non-contact printing head is an ink jet printing head and has a head cleaning unit.